You never realize what the good old days are until you're no longer living in them. In May 1943, seventeen-year-old Clint Brodsky learns this lesson the hard way when German forces invade and attack the US mainland. As Clint's hometown of Mayfield, Ohio, is left in ruins, he is forced to overcome and adapt to this macabre new world he once called home.

Constantly questioning his own moral compass as he finds himself doing things he normally wouldn't even consider, Clint must conquer his deepest fears for the sake of his newborn baby sister, Violet, and the girl he learns to love, Hazel. Clint must grow and mature to keep the ones he loves safe, all the while dealing with the natural feelings and dilemmas an impressionable teenager is bound to have. This, coupled with his hopes of finding a better world, is what drives him. But what will happen when his own need for revenge and his instinct to survive drive him in the opposite direction?